Nebraska volleyball might have finished second in the nation last season, but they’ve been first in the hearts of Nebraskans for decades. No Place Like Nebraska discusses why and covers the culmination of decades of effort: the Huskers’ record-breaking 2023 season, featuring a team with no seniors on the roster.
Calling last season tumultuous for Nebraska volleyball is an understatement as the year started with their record-setting exhibition match in front of over 92,000 fans , and ended in a heartbreaking loss to Texas in the 2023 national championship . The documentary’s conclusion is open-ended: after making history so many times, how will this young Nebraska team face mounting pressure from fans, the media, and their program itself, where it often feels like there’s no place to go but down?
No Place Like Nebraska does more than discuss the Huskers program in terms of its prestige. Of course, Nebraska’s five national championships, record-setting crowds, and historic rivalries with Wisconsin and Texas are highlighted, and the film covers the Huskers’ 2023 season chronologically, with wins and their losses to Wisconsin and Texas as reference points. But the heart of the documentary is the people who make Nebraska volleyball the force it is today: the athletes, the athletics staff, and the fans.
Four Nebraska AVCA All-Americans represent the program as interviewees: Merritt Beason, Lexi Rodriguez, Harper Murray, and Bergen Reilly. The stories of these women underscores the reality that today’s athletes are different from athletes of the past.
While other storied women’s programs have faced pressure to perform, the pressure female athletes at programs like Nebraska volleyball face today is simply different thanks in large part to social media. No Place Like Nebraska pulls no punches in exposing the worst the internet has to offer and showcases the levels of cyberbullying, online harassment, and even threats that female athletes must contend with as they strive for greatness. While libero Lexi Rodriguez paraphrases Billie Jean King’s famous “pressure is a privilege” quote, the kind of pressures these athletes face is still somewhat new and can have detrimental effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H85Vscesubc
Outside hitter Harper Murray’s story underscores the consequences of such pressure and the double standards that are often applied to female athletes in the online space. After losing to Texas in the national championship last year, Murray’s comment that Nebraska would win three national championships in the next three years during the postgame press conference sparked outrage online.
While critics claimed that Murray’s comments and tone were an indication of a bad attitude that her late father would be ashamed of, it is acknowledged in the film that there would be minimal, if any, controversy had a male athlete said the same thing. In doing so, the film delves into Murray’s vulnerable side that many athletes can likely relate to: although Murray acknowledges that there are athletes who are unbothered by such comments, she admits that she is not one of them–and the fact that women face increased media criticism for their drive is a frustrating reality.
In sharing her ensuing mental health struggles and legal trouble following the loss and online discourse, Murray destigmatizes an increasingly common problem among college athletes who face scrutiny from millions of strangers emboldened by online anonymity and highlights the fact that, at the end of the day, even the best athletes are human, too.
No Place Like Nebraska excels in showcasing athletes’ personal sides alongside their glamorized athletic accomplishments and highlights how coaches must also adjust to athletes’ shifting expectations. While Florida transfer Merritt Beason didn’t detail specifically why she left for Nebraska, she acknowledged a growing trend among today’s college athletes: they increasingly desire coaching staffs that see them as people over performers, something Beason claimed she found only once she transferred to Nebraska.
The film highlights that this was a shift that Nebraska volleyball head coach, John Cook, made in his coaching career as he evolved from an impersonal “tough-as-nails” coach to a people-oriented one who learned to understand the human side of the game. While old-school loyalists would consider such a change in coaching methods soft, it has worked in Cook’s favor both on and off the court since he took over the Huskers program in 2000.
Of course, Cook’s four national championships speak for themselves, as he proves that coaches don’t need to mistreat or burn athletes out to see results. But perhaps even more impressively, the branding that makes Nebraska volleyball the spectacle it is relies heavily on communal outreach, including word-of-mouth promotion and intensive media routines to connect with fans. In other words, catering to the human side of the game is the secret ingredient that makes Nebraska volleyball great.
No Place Like Nebraska also highlights the importance of the program’s fans and the love they have for Huskers volleyball. There are plenty of shots of fans lined up outside of the Devaney Center waiting to get in, some of whom arriving as early as 4:00 AM in below freezing temperatures for afternoon and evening games. Others stay late for autograph sessions and talk about the importance of Nebraska volleyball to themselves as Nebraskans and their daughters as athletes. And of course, the film leads off with the incredible 92,000 fans that filled Memorial Stadium last August, and pays homage to the loyal fanbase that has been selling out Huskers games since the 1980s.
Although No Place Like Nebraska successfully highlights the star power and struggles of Nebraska volleyball, it also offers a simple blueprint for successfully branding women’s sports: invest in female athletes both personally and professionally. While there are many uncertainties in Nebraska’s future, as their youth and resilience will again be tested in the 2024 season, it’s clear that the Huskers will continue to be a force in growing women’s sports and a major problem for their competitors.
No Place Like Nebraska debuts Sunday, August 25, 5 p.m. ET on ESPN and will then be available for streaming on ESPN+.
The post ‘No Place Like Nebraska’ is a blueprint for women’s sports storytelling appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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